Azhagappapuram (Azhagai) is located about five miles to the northwest of Kanyakumari, the Land's End of India. It falls under Agasteeswaram taluka of Tamil Nadu. With a white lotus-like St. Antony's church standing imposingly in the middle, Azhagai epitomizes pristine beauty, being surrounded by an enchanting landscape of lush green trees, dense coconut groves, picturesque rice fields and puddles holding bluish pure water. The gentle breeze blowing across this place has a waft of soothing fragrance. Nature has endowed Azhagai and its surrounding areas with all its fauna and flora.

Azhagai is renowned for faith, righteousness, nationalism, secularism, education, sports, and political & social awareness. This town has created a string of priests and nuns who renounced frivolous comforts to serve God, the poor and destitute.

True to the saint-poet Thiruvalluvar's dictum on peasantry, Azhagai habitats traditional and core profession has been agriculture. Everything else flows from it.

Consistent with the maxim Traverse across the seas and make your wealth, a good chunk of the population has temporarily migrated to various countries and made fortunes. This activity is ongoing, and today Azhagai is an economic powerhouse, driven by the cash steadily flowing from those economic migrants. It is also known as mini-Japan. Liveliness and humility characterize the people living in here. At this amazing turnaround, we remember with gratitude the pacesetters.

Far back in time, Mudaliars and Muslims came first and lived in this village. Hindu Nadars and aborigines Dravidas, few in number, joined them later. This village was named after Azhagappa Mudaliar, a famous Mudaliar who lived in here early, in recognition of his meritorious services to Azhagai. The Mudaliars and others did many freelance jobs for their livelihood. They are known to have run mini-weaving operations. However, apparently due to lack of adequate income to make ends meet, they are believed to have moved away from Azhagai.

With hard work, diligence and resourcefulness as their capital, the Nadars, who had settled in Azhagai around three centuries ago after the exit of Mudaliars, lived happily amid perennial poverty and penury. Patience and perseverance bore fruit. With the construction and opening of the Petchiparai dam in 1910, water started flowing across this plain through Thovalai canal. This brought about a total transformation of Azhagai and its inhabitants. Agriculture became the backbone of this area's economy, which brought prosperity and effectively eradicated adversity. The people started smiling.

A Malayananchan from the Hindu Nadar community that moved in here after the Mudaliars era, had become a prominent figure. His eight sons were known as the Eight mavericks. Famous as he was, Malayananchan embraced Christianity and was baptized by the Vadakankulam parish priest, Paranjyothi Nathar. Malayananchan was re-christened as Swamiadian. He started living anew as a devout Christian.

These events are known to have occurred during the period 1700  1740. Malayananchan built with his own money a thatch-roofed church, dedicating it to    St. Antony.  As he believed that he was cured of a serious ailment with divine grace, he donated his land surrounding the church.  Our primary school was constructed thereafter on this plot.  The sepulcher of his eldest son still stands intact at the eastern frontier of Azhagai.  As early settlers and drifters from elsewhere started gradually moving into Azhagai, it began taking shape of a bigger village.

The existing church land was acquired about 158 years ago. With the zealousness of the then Vadakankulam parish priest, Soosai Gregory Nathar,  and the unstinted cooperation of the people, construction of the church was accomplished in two phases. more...>>>